Soil additive

ABSTRACT

The invention is a process for treatment of brown grease, where the brown grease comprises water, food solids and free-oil. This process starts with the collection of the brown grease into a container. The brown grease&#39;s pH is adjusted with a chemical treatment to produce an adjusted brown grease phase. To the adjusted brown grease phase an anionic copolymer treatment mixture is added along with a cationic copolymer to form a reaction mixture. The reaction mixture reacts for a period of time, and during this time wastewater is discharged from the reaction mixture to produce resulting solids. The resulting solids are then transferred from the container for disposal or are processed further into a fuel or soil additive.

RELATED CASES

This application claims the Priority of the Provisional Application Ser.No. 60/623,538 filed Oct. 29, 2004. This application is a divisionalapplication of application Ser. No. 12/110,538 filed Apr. 28, 2008,which is a divisional application of application Ser. No. 11/194,996filed Aug. 2, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,384,562.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method for an efficient and sanitarytreatment of brown grease.

Grease is a material, either liquid or solid, composed primarily offats, oils and grease (also referred to as FOG) from animal or vegetablesources. Brown grease (or trap grease) is waste that is recovered fromgrease traps and interceptors. Yellow grease is oil and grease thatcomes directly from fryers and other cooking equipment. A grease trap isa small volume device located inside a food service facility, generallyunder a sink, designed to collect, contain, or remove food wastes andbrown grease from the waste stream while allowing the balance of theliquid waste to discharge into the wastewater collection system, usuallya sanitary sewer system. A grease interceptor is a large volume devicelocated underground and outside of a food service facility designed tocollect, contain or remove food wastes and brown grease from the wastestream while allowing the balance of the liquid waste to discharge tothe wastewater collection system, usually a sanitary sewer system.Interceptors have at least one inspection hatch on the top surface tofacilitate inspection, cleaning and maintenance by a service provider.

The terms “grease trap” and “grease interceptor” are often usedinterchangeably in the literature. For this document, discussion of any“grease separation device” refers to both types of units without needfor differentiation. For this document, FOG refers to Brown Greaseunless otherwise noted.

A problem today is that the nature of FOG is changing and this change isleading to problems in the effective treatment of FOG. While oncelargely composed of animal fats (such as lard), now fats, oils, andgrease (FOG) the waste grease and oils that are discharged from kitchendrains into sanitary sewer systems are now principally manufacturedvegetable oils designed to adhere to food. The basic chemical structureof FOG is varying combinations of glycerol (C₃H₈O₃) and fatty acids(chains of carbon-hydrogen with a carboxylic group-COOH-attached).However, as food science advances, and cooking oils become more and moreefficient, the fatty acid chains become much more complex. Unlike theolder, animal fat-based cooking media, the more complex fatty acids areby and large more stable, and they are less likely to break down eitherin the sanitary drain system, from the activity of naturally occurringbacteria, or from general exposure in the open environment.

Both animal fats and vegetable oils are 8-12 percent lighter than waterand do not mix with it. FOG forms a floating layer on the water in thegrease separation devices, and that property enables those lightermaterials to be efficiently removed, essentially by vacuuming out thefloating fats and as much of the water as regulations require.

The increased development of central business districts encircled bysuburban areas, the increasing mobility of our society, and increasedrestaurant patronage per capital per year have led to significant growthin the commercial food sector. These trends have led to the increase ofcommercial areas containing high densities of restaurants, mall foodcourts, and supermarket ready-to-eat meals. Additionally, many other newfood preparation facilities such as sports arenas, strip shoppingcenters, convenience stores and carry-out kiosks have raised the numbersof high-loading grease sources on municipal sewer systems. With morerestaurants, institutional kitchens, and other commercial, food handlingvenues, the nation's sewer systems experience increasing difficulty withgrease clogged sewer lines and pumping stations affecting sewagetreatment operations.

A major area of problems is between the source of the FOG and thetreatment plant. Drainage pipes within buildings are usually made frommetals or plastics. Municipal sewer piping may be made from metals,plastics or ceramic materials such as terra cotta. All of thesematerials are hydrophobic and oleophilic. Hydrophobic means water doesnot stick to the material, a good property for water-handling pipes.Oleophilic means oily substances are naturally attracted to thematerial, which is why piping encounters grease clogging.

Fats and oils naturally stick to piping walls. However, fats and oilsalso possess an inherent surface “stickiness” (increasingly anengineered property to enhance cooking properties), which leads tosewage-borne solids sticking to the grease layer on a sewer pipe'sinside walls, slowly and relentlessly reducing the pipe's transfercapacity. This frequently leads to a pipe becoming so clogged that theeffluent in the line emerges through a manhole (or burst pipe) to thesurface as a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO). Not only is this a healthhazard, but local governments can be, and are, fined by the EPA for suchspills. Additionally, the remedy for the clogged mains, physicallycleaning the pipe systems, is expensive, messy, and dangerous work.

For these reasons, regulators from the EPA at the federal level tostate, county, and municipal governments have increasingly implementedpolicies and regulations to control the influx of FOG into the publicwastewater systems. The most common and generally preferred methods ofFOG entrapment is either a grease trap (for small establishments) orgrease interceptors (for mainline, higher volume establishments). Theseregulations generally specify sizing criteria and frequently mandategrease removal (i.e. service call) frequency.

In addition to companies that provide extraction of interceptor contentsas their service there are an array of products that are purported toclean and maintain grease interceptors. However, these existing productsrelated to cleaning and maintaining grease interceptors have somedrawbacks to their use.

The first of these products are enzymes. Basically, an enzyme is aprotein that will act on a compound and break it into several smallercompounds. Enzymes are compound specific; in fact, there are enzymesthat will work only on the compounds found in FOG. Although the actualenzymatic action is quite complex, the end result is that the fattyacids are severed from the glycerol base. This allows the FOG todissolve and move downstream. However, enzyme reactions are allreversible chemical reactions. The free fatty acids can re-join theglycerol base and become FOG, complete with the same characteristics itonce had. While enzymes may dissolve FOG and facilitate its dispersalfrom the grease interceptor, (and this may be beneficial to therestaurant owner in that the grease interceptor may not need to bepumped as frequently) the FOG problem is just displaced. It willre-appear as the fatty acids and glycerol recombine in a sewer or in apump station's wet well downstream. Thus the disposal problem is simplytransferred to the public sector. In addition, enzymes do not replicatethemselves. They will be carried out along with the dissolved grease. Asa result, enzymes must be frequently introduced into the greaseinterceptor, representing an ongoing maintenance issue for management.

The second of these products are detergents. Detergents are not aneffective treatment option. They may clean blockages from therestaurant's lines, but create other problems for a sewer system and itswastewater treatment plant. In a similar fashion to enzymes, they breakup grease deposits, but the grease can re-congeal further downstream inthe collection system.

The third of these products are bacteria and solvents. Using bacteria toconsume sewer grease is effective only when the proper microorganismsare used and applied through a highly developed service system. Bacteriaproducts commonly sold with “do-it-all” claims typically give greaseinterceptor owners a false sense of security. Bacteria are pH andtemperature sensitive and do not maintain their replicating activityparticularly well in the (low pH) environment found in greaseinterceptors. Also, their use is generally not well received by(publicly owned treatment works (POTWs).

Finally, many distributors of biological liquefiers, enzymes, and othersuch products claim that their products will eliminate the need to pumpa grease interceptor ever again. Some of the products that claim to bebacterial products are actually inactive forms of bacteria packed insolvents such as kerosene, toluene, terpene, surfactants, etc. It isactually the solvent, not the bacteria, which dissolves the grease. Thisdefeats the purpose of a grease interceptor. The product may move FOGout of the food processor's grease interceptor, but the grease canquickly recongeal in the POTW's collection system. In summary, thesealternatives are not a solution and many sanitary system operators donot condone their use.

Disposal options in the realms of bio-diesel fuel manufacture andbio-fuel (heating fuels and turbine feeds for example) are interestingresearch projects but are generally experimental or limited in scope,and exhibit increased costs compared to petroleum based fuel. A 2% mixof bio-diesel with conventional diesel adds about three cents per gallonat the pump and trucking organizations are resistant to mandated use ofthese mixes. In any case, yellow grease, not brown grease, is thepreferred feedstock for bio-fuels. Brown grease has, however, been thesubject of specific research for its use as a feedstock for bio-dieselfuel manufacture. Much of the work has been done at the universitylevel, though at least one large rendering company has a functioningproduction plant, Griffin Industries, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, that mayuse a small amount of brown grease in its feed. Several issues, however,indicate that brown grease will be very slow to catch on as alarge-scale feedstock.

Bio-diesel feedstock demands low free fatty acid content. Brown greasecontains 5-times (or more) free fatty acids (FFAs) as soy oil (or otherlow FFA oils that are processed with alkaline catalysts into bio-fuels)so must be blended with low FFA components to make bio-diesel feed.

The large scale alternative for brown grease processing is a relativelycomplex acid catalyst process demanding high-energy drying and hightemperature processing at high pressures, demanding acid resistantsteels and other specialized handing equipment.

New EPA directions towards 100% pumping rules mean that the brown greaserequires separation from massive amounts of water, and exceedingly lowwater content in the feed product is a requirement for processing;slightly too much water and the alkaline catalyst procedure forbio-diesel production produces a soap contaminate in the bio-fuel.Eliminating water is energy intensive, thus low water “yellow grease” orvirgin vegetable oils are highly preferred as feedstock.

Research on effective brown grease utilization has not translated intoeffective large-scale operations. The issue of disposal of contaminantsentrained in the grease-sludge waste from bio-diesel production stillremains.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a process for treatment of brown grease, where thebrown grease comprises water, food solids and free-oil. This processstarts with the collection of the brown grease into a container. Thebrown grease's pH is adjusted with a chemical treatment to produce anadjusted brown grease phase. To the adjusted brown grease phase ananionic copolymer treatment mixture is added along with a cationiccopolymer to form a reaction mixture. The reaction mixture reacts for aperiod of time, and during this time wastewater is discharged from thereaction mixture to produce resulting solids. The resulting solids arethen transferred from the container for disposal or is processed furtherinto a fuel or soil additive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing will become more readily apparent by referring to thefollowing detailed description and the appended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic of the process in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic of the main process in accordance with theinvention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic of the decant process in accordance with theinvention.

FIG. 4 a schematic of the finishing process in accordance with theinvention.

FIG. 5 is a graph of the effluent test with an oxidizing agent.

FIG. 6 is graph of the effluent test without an oxidizing agent.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a process for treatment of brown grease, where thebrown grease comprises water, food solids and free-oil. This processstarts with the collection of the brown grease into a container 10,FIG. 1. The brown grease's pH is adjusted with a pH chemical treatment15 to produce an adjusted brown grease phase. To the adjusted browngrease phase an anionic copolymer treatment mixture 20 is added alongwith a cationic copolymer 25 to form a reaction mixture. The reactionmixture reacts for a period of time and during this time wastewater isdischarged from the reaction mixture to produce resulting solids. Theresulting solids are then transferred from the container 10 to a storagecontainer 30 for disposal or is processed further into a fuel or soiladditive. Optionally with this process food solids can be separated fromthe water and free-oil at a separator 50. The effectiveness of thisprocess is shown in the graph of FIG. 6, where FOG is fats oils andgrease, BOD is the biochemical oxygen demand, and TSS is the totalsuspended solids.

In the invented process for treatment of brown grease, FIG. 1, theanionic copolymer treatment mixture 20 can be any anionic copolymer saltcapable of reacting with a cationic copolymer salt and, which is capableof producing a resulting solid. The anionic copolymer 20 may be selectedfrom the group of: water-soluble polymers (especially the natural andsemisynthetic polymers), polyethylene glycol copolymer salts,polyglycerol ester copolymer salts, carboxymethylcellulose copolymersalts, methylcellulose copolymer salts, ethylcellulose copolymer salts,arabic gum copolymer salts and acrylamide copolymer salts. It has beenfound that a mixture of an anionic acrylamide copolymer salt and waterworks well. The cationic copolymer treatment 25 can be any cationiccopolymer salt capable of reacting with an anionic copolymer salt and,which is capable of producing a resulting solid. The cationic copolymer25 may be selected from the group of: water-soluble polymers (especiallythe natural and semisynthetic polymers), polyethylene imine copolymersalts, polyethylene glycol copolymer salts, polyglycerol ester copolymersalts, carboxymethylcellulose copolymer salts, methylcellulose copolymersalts, ethylcellulose copolymer salts, arabic gum copolymer salts andacrylamide copolymer salts. It has been found that a mixture of acationic acrylamide copolymer salt and water works well.

In one embodiment, the cationic copolymer treatment 25 mixture is amixture of a cationic acrylamide copolymer salt and water. In oneembodiment the anionic copolymer treatment mixture is a mixture of from0.025 to 9% anionic acrylamide copolymer salt to water. In oneembodiment the cationic copolymer treatment mixture is a mixture of from0.025% to 9% cationic acrylamide copolymer salt to water.

This invented process for treatment of brown grease may further comprisethe steps of separating of the free-oil and food solids from the waterin the container. The water is drained off from the container 10,leaving the free oil food solids. Then the water drained from thecontainer 10 is collected into a reservoir 35. The pH of the collectedwater in reservoir 35 is measured. The pH may be adjusted as requiredfor meeting discharge limits, if this is required then a pH adjuster 33is added. Generally the water coming off container 10 tends to be basichaving a pH of 10 or more. When the water is discharge to sanitary sewerit is preferable that the water be in the pH range of 7-9 in reservoir35. The pH adjuster used in 33 would need to be on the acidic side tobring down the pH of the basic water coming off container 10. The waterfrom reservoir 35 is then filtered through a sand filter 40 to producefiltered water. Then a second chemical treatment for water 45 is addedto the filtered water. This second chemical treatment is an oxidizingagent. The oxidizing agent can be any oxidizing agent, though it hasbeen found that hydrogen peroxide works well in this application. Theeffectiveness of this addition of an oxidizing agent, such as hydrogenperoxide, is shown in the graph of FIG. 5, where FOG is fats oils andgrease, BOD is the biochemical oxygen demand, and TSS is the totalsuspended solids. In one of the embodiments of this invention, thesecond chemical treatment is added before the sand filter as shown bythe broken line in FIG. 2.

The invented process for treatment of brown grease may further comprisein another embodiment the steps of separating of the free-oil and foodsolids from the water at the separator 50, FIG. 2. The water that isdrained off flows through the piping 91 and into an initial watercollection reservoir 51 or can alternately be pumped through piping 92to the storage pit 110. The water which is initially removed from thefree-oil and food solids as a pH in the acid range, generally from a pHof 3 to 4, and can be used later to help adjust the pH of the dischargedwater. The free-oil and food solids and some residual water is then sentto the mixing tank 55.

In one of the embodiments of the invented process for treatment of browngrease, the brown grease is a mixture of brown grease and debris. Inthis case a separator 50 can be provided and would be used to separatedebris from the brown grease prior to collection in the container 10.The separator may be a screen where the size of the mesh is determinedby the type of debris mixed in with the brown grease.

In the invented process for treatment of brown grease the pH chemicaltreatment 15 is a base. While many bases can be used in thisapplication, it has been found that either a lime slurry or calciumhydroxide work well in this application.

In one embodiment of the invented process for treatment of brown greasethe adjustment of pH can be facilitated by having a separate mixing tank55, FIG. 2. This mixing tank has a mixing tank discharge pipe 60. Thefree-oil phase is transferred to the mixing tank 55, where the free-oilin the mixing tank is mixed and pH is adjusted with the pH treatmentchemical 15 to produce an adjusted oil phase. The mixing tank 55 mayhave a means for agitation such as an impeller or cavitator. Mixing mayalso be facilitated by a circulation loop 96, 97 between the separator50 and mixing tank 55.

The reaction of the adjusted oil phase with the anionic copolymertreatment mixture 20 and the cationic copolymer treatment mixture 25 canbe facilitated by having a separate mixing box 65, FIG. 2. An anionicmixing unit 70 has a means of agitation and is provided with an anionicmixing unit discharge pipe 80 in communication with the mixing tankdischarge pipe 60. This anionic mixing unit 70 is provided with amixture of water and an anionic copolymer. The water and the anioniccopolymer are mixed in the anionic mixing unit 70 to produce an anioniccopolymer treatment mixture. A cationic mixing unit 75 having a means ofagitation is provided, which also has a cationic mixing unit dischargepipe 85 in communication with the mixing tank discharge pipe 60. Thiscationic mixing unit 75 is provided with a mixture of water and acationic copolymer. The water and the cationic copolymer are mixed inthe cationic mixing unit 75 to produce a cationic copolymer treatmentmixture. Upon transfer of the adjusted oil phase from a mixing tank 55the anionic copolymer treatment mixture is mixed in with the adjustedoil either: just before introduction into the mixing box 65; or afterintroduction into the mixing box 65. The cationic copolymer treatmentmixture is then added to the mixture of adjusted oil and anioniccopolymer mixture to form a reaction mixture. The mixing box 65 isfilled with a predetermined amount of the reaction mixture. The reactionmixture is allowed to react for a period of time, that time being areaction time. It should be noted that while it is described above toadd in the anionic copolymer treatment 20 is added to the brown greasefirst the process can be reversed. If reversed then the cationiccopolymer treatment 25 would be added to the brown grease first andsubsequently the anionic polymer treatment would be added to form thereaction mixture.

The mixing box 65 serves two functions, first it provides a place forthe reaction to take place and second, during the reaction the reactionmixture is dewatered. These mixing boxes 65 can be rectangular and madefrom any material that is inert to reaction process. It has been foundthat welded steel works well in this application. These mixing boxes 65are hinged 90 to tilt on actuators 95, with hinged doors 100, on theends that allow the processed mass to be expelled by gravity followingdewatering. The hinged doors may be top hinged as shown in FIGS. 4 and 2or hinged lower on the box face. Hatches 105 to the top allow of ingressand egress for servicing issues. The reaction in the mixing boxes isexothermic and may reach elevated temperatures. These elevatedtemperatures are often several degrees higher than ambient temperatureand can be as high as 80° F. or 26.7° C. or more. The process for abatch size of three to five thousand gallons takes place over 3 to 5hours.

In one embodiment of the invented process for treatment of brown grease,wastewater from the reaction box is drained off during the reactionprocess. The wastewater, or supernatant liquid, drains by gravitythrough line 103. This water can be collected in a storage pit 110 andfrom there pumped to the reservoir 35. Once the reaction is complete theresulting solids from the mixing box 65, FIG. 4, are transferred to astorage container 115 where it is either transferred for disposal or isprocessed further into a fuel or soil additive. The solids from theprocess are dumped by gravity from the mixing box 65 by tilting themixing box 65 on the actuators 95 and hinges 90 to transfer the highdensity solids into the storage containers 115. The high density solidsmay also be transfer by scooping the contents out of the mixing box 65or by some similar transfer means. These storage containers 115 may be20 cubic yard “roll off” boxes, or other appropriate containers ortransfer equipment. When sufficient solids accumulate, they are eithershipped to a permitted landfill, or can be further dried and processedto use as recycled material for fuel or an additive for agriculturalpurposes. These dried high density solids may optionally be sent tobriquette rollers 175, FIG. 4, to be molded into a compressed dried highdensity solids of various shapes 180. The dried high density solids mayalso be used without further processing 185. The dried high densitysolids may be sent unprocessed 185 or in briquette form 180 to be usedas fuel for process heat 190 or it may be used in unprocessed form 185as an additive for agricultural purposes 195. During the standing timein the roll off boxes 115, FIG. 2, water continues to flash off thematerial, and this is collected through drains into the storage pit 110and is subsequently pumped to the water reservoir 35.

Generally the water coming off the mixing boxes 65 or the roll off boxes115 tends to be basic, having a pH of 10 or more. When the water isdischarge to sanitary sewer from reservoir 35 it is preferable that thewater be in the pH range of 7-9. The pH can be adjusted using the low pHwater from initial reservoir 51 or if storage pit 110 has some low pHwater that could alternatively be used. The addition of this low pHwater is used to bring down the pH of the basic water from reservoir 35.The water in reservoir 35 is adjusted for pH to be between 7 and 9, asmeasured by litmus paper or a pH meter. Then reservoir 35 contents arethen discharged through a sand filter 40, whose entrained solids aredisposed of periodically into a roll off box 115.

The invented system can optionally use a final filter 120, FIG. 2 whichcan be located at positions A, B, C or D. It has been found that a 10micron filter works well as the final filter 120. It has also been foundthat if the final filter 10 is placed in location A, it helps preventthe sand filter 40 from becoming clogged. This final filter 120 iseasily cleaned periodically.

With the final filter 120 being used in the A position, then a sandfilter 40 and before the effluent passes thru a flume (with a flowmeter, or other flow measuring system, to record discharge volumes) anominal amount of an oxidizing agent from chemical treatment 45, such ashydrogen peroxide solution, is pumped into the discharge stream foradjustment to the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). This nominaloxidizing agent solution can range from 25 to 75% concentration byvolume. It has been found that in one embodiment a 40-55% concentrationby volume, nominal hydrogen peroxide solution works well. The oxidizingagent injection rate is adjusted to meet discharge limits imposed by thesewage authorities and can varied to compensate for a wide spectrum ofdischarge limits. The discharge then goes to a sanitary sewer tap.

In one embodiment of the invented process for treatment of brown grease,a decant offload tank 130 is provided, FIG. 3. Brown grease is collectedinto the decant offload tank 130, where the brown grease compriseswater, food solids and free-oil. A separation tank 140 and a separator50 are provided. The brown grease from said decant offload tank 130 ispassed through the separator 50 and into the separation tank 140. Thefree-oil and food solids are separated from the water in the separationtank 140 to form an oil phase. The water from the separation tank isdrained off to create discharge water and the oil phase discharge. Anoil phase storage unit 150 is provided. The oil phase discharge istransferred to the oil phase storage unit 150. A water discharge storageunit 145 is provided. The discharge water 125 is transferred to thewater discharge storage unit 145 which has a discharge line 155. Thedischarge water in the water discharge storage unit 145 may be adjustedfor pH with virtually any base acceptable to the sewage authorities. Ameans for dispensing chemicals 160 is provided which is in communicationwith the discharge line. The means for dispensing chemicals 160 has awater discharge chemical treatment. The water discharge chemicaltreatment is added from chemical dispenser 160 to the discharge line toproduce treated water. Generally this dispensed chemical is an oxidizingagent. However, the treatment may also include adjustment to the pH. Thetreated water is then discharged. Residual solids that may accumulate intank 40 are periodically collected and disposed of, generally to alandfill.

The oil phase discharge is transferred from the oil phase storage unit150, FIG. 3, to the separator 50, FIG. 2, and then to the mixing tank55, having a mixing tank discharge pipe 60 is provided. As describedbefore, the mixing tank 55 may include means for agitation or have acircular loop between the separator 50 and the mixing tank 55 to aid inthe blending. Then the pH of the oil phase is adjusted in the mixingtank 55 with the pH chemical treatment 15 to produce an adjusted oilphase. An anionic mixing unit 70 is provided which has a means ofagitation and has an anionic mixing unit discharge pipe 80 incommunication with the mixing tank discharge pipe 60. This anionicmixing unit holds a mixture of water and an anionic copolymer. The waterand the copolymer are mixed in the mixing unit to produce a copolymertreatment mixture. A mixing box 65 in communication with said mixingtank discharge pipe is provided. The adjusted oil phase is dischargedinto the mixing tank discharge pipe 60. The copolymer treatment mix isdischarged into said mixing tank discharge pipe 60. A cationic mixingunit 75 is provided which has a means of agitation and has a cationicmixing unit discharge pipe 85 in communication with the mixing tankdischarge pipe 60. The discharge pipe of the cationic mixing unit 85 islocated at the end closest to the mixing box 65. The cationic mixingunit 75 holds a mixture of water and a cationic copolymer which forms acationic copolymer mixture. The cationic copolymer mixture is added atthe end of the mixing tank discharge pipe 60 to produce a reactionmixture. The mixing box 65 is filled with a predetermined amount of thereaction mixture. The reaction mixture is reacted for a period of time.Wastewater from the mixing box 65 is discharged to a wastewater storageunit 110 which produces the resulting solids. The resulting solids aretransferred from the mixing box 65 to a storage container 115 where itis either transferred for disposal or is processed further into a fuelor soil additive.

In one embodiment of the invented process for treatment of brown grease,a sand filter 40 is provided which is in communication with thedischarge line before the means for dispensing water treatment chemicals45. The discharge water is fed through the sand filter to produce afiltered water before adding the chemical treatment for water.Optionally a final filter 120 can be located in the A, C or D position.

In one embodiment of the invented process for treatment of brown grease,a sand filter 40 is provided which is in communication with thedischarge line after the means for dispensing the chemical treatment forwater 45, FIG. 2, shown by dotted line from chemical treatment means 45.The treated water is feed through the sand filter 40 to produce afiltered water before discharge. Optionally this filtered water may alsobe passed through a final filter 120 located in the A, B or C position.

In one embodiment of the invented process for treatment of brown grease,the chemical treatment 45 is hydrogen peroxide and the pH chemicaltreatment 15 is selected from the group consisting of: lime slurry orcalcium hydroxide.

In one embodiment of the invention the additions of the cationiccopolymer and anionic copolymer is reversed.

1. A soil additive produced by a process comprising the steps of:collecting a brown grease into a container, where said brown greasecomprises water, food solids and free-oil; adjusting pH of said browngrease with a first chemical treatment to produce an adjusted browngrease phase, where said first chemical treatment is a base; adding anionic copolymer treatment mixture; adding an ionic copolymer of anopposite charge to form a reaction mixture; reacting said reactionmixture for a period of time; discharging wastewater from said reactionmixture to produce a resulting solids; and transferring said resultingsolids from said container.
 2. The soil additive according to claim 1where in the step of collecting a brown grease into a container, wheresaid brown grease comprises water, food solids and free-oil furthercomprises the steps of: separating free-oil and food solids from waterin said container; draining off water from said container; collectingwater drained from said container; and filtering collected water througha filter to produce filtered water.
 3. The soil additive according toclaim 1 where said process further comprises the steps of: providing aseparator; separating debris from said brown grease prior to collectionto said container.
 4. The soil additive according to claim 1 where saidprocess further comprises the steps of: providing a mixing tank having amixing tank discharge pipe in communication with said container;transferring said brown grease to said mixing tank; mixing said browngrease in said mixing tank; adjusting pH of said brown grease in saidmixing tank with said first chemical treatment to produce an adjustedbrown grease phase; and transferring said adjusted brown grease phase tosaid container through said mixing tank discharge pipe.
 5. The soiladditive according to claim 1 where said process further comprises thesteps of: providing an anionic mixing unit having a means of agitationand having a mixing unit discharge pipe in communication with saidmixing tank discharge pipe, said mixing unit having a mixture of waterand an anionic copolymer; mixing said water said anionic copolymer insaid mixing unit to produce a copolymer treatment mixture; dischargingsaid adjusted brown grease phase into said mixing tank discharge pipe;and discharging said copolymer treatment mix into said mixing tankdischarge pipe.
 6. The soil additive according to claim 5 where saidprocess further comprises the steps of: providing a cationic mixing unithaving a means of agitation and having a cationic mixing unit dischargepipe in communication with said mixing tank discharge pipe at the endclosest to said container, said cationic mixing unit having a mixture ofwater and an cationic copolymer being a cationic copolymer mixture;adding said cationic copolymer mixture at an end of said mixing tankdischarge pipe to produce a reaction mixture; filling said containerwith a predetermined amount of said reaction mixture; and reacting saidreaction mixture for a period of time, that time being a reaction time.7. The soil additive according to claim 6 where said process furthercomprises the steps of: running off wastewater from said container to awastewater storage unit; and transferring the resulting solids from thecontainer to a storage container.